Tonight is for the 14 year old girl who saw the ‘Inside Out’ video on MTV. And the 17 year old that convinced her high school to make ‘Here’s to the night’ the prom theme. Spent 1/2 my life loving this band but never saw them live. Tonight 14 year old Sara, 17 year old Sara, and 27 year old Sara are all thrilled!!
This is what my life looks like lately. Back with more when I have a moment to breath.
The warmest March on record and snow on April 10th. My tulips are not pleased.
Bird Girls from "Seussical: The Musical" 2005
Any good theatre junkie has used this phrase countless times. What you may not know, is that I used to be one of those theatre junkies. From the age of 12-22, theatre ran my life… and I LOVED it. I was an awkward kid and at the theatre, I belonged. At the theatre, I could pretend to be someone else. I got a degree in Theatre Studies from Capital University and in my 4 years there I did 11 shows. My friends were used to having me miss dinners, game nights and trips to the bar because I had rehearsal. They didn’t always understand it, but they supported it and a few key friends saw almost ever show I did while I was there.
Erma in "Anything Goes' @ Padua in 2002
Suddenly, when I began working in theatre administration, actually being in a show took a back seat. Heck, even seeing shows took a back seat. I lived theatre all day- sometimes it was just nice to come home and watch TV, go out to dinner with my sister or talk to Chris. Don’t get me wrong, there were times when I missed it. I did a children’s production called Miss Nelson Has a Field Day (anybody remember that book?) when I was working at the Walnut Street Theatre. I had my WORST theatre experience ever when I tried out for a play with a small theatre company that I had never heard of in the fall of 2010. There were a few shows at Near West that I would have killed to be a part of but couldn’t because of my responsibilities as a member of the administrative staff. I never stopped thinking about the idea of doing theatre, I just wasn’t doing it.
And as time passed, I got involved in other things- board member and foster parent for Secondhand Mutts, blogger, committee co-chair for Jump Back Ball, and more. I went to the gym, to happy hour with friends and to weekly dinners with my mom. Suddenly my life was very full of things that weren’t theatre.
"Sweeney Todd", 2003 (I'm in the middle!)
Of course, you must know that this is where things get complicated. A year ago, the Near West Theatre season was set and the show I had been suggesting for years, Ragtime, was on the schedule. Then 9 months ago, I got an opportunity I couldn’t refuse and left Near West for my current job at Embrace Pet Insurance. Suddenly, I was eligible to audition for a show that I love at a theatre I love. However, I had gotten used to life without rehearsal, and I was busy most evenings. Beyond that, I worried about whether I still had “it”- the spark, the talent and the drive to make this happen.
I kept my plans to audition quiet as long as possible, but with my big mouth and some wine to loosen it, I told practically the whole world my plans in January at the Near West benefit. Fabulous- no pressure, right? When auditions finally came up 2 weeks ago, I was a total mess of nerves. I was not at my best but somehow I GOT CAST!
It’s just a chorus part at a community theatre but I am so excited to get back into theatre and, most importantly, for it be to THIS show. Ragtime has some of the most amazing music and I have been in love with it since I first saw the show over 10 years ago. The themes of racial inequality and the melting pot of America that bring the show to its climax are as relevant now as they where in 1906, when the story is set. Rehearsals started on Sunday and the vocal power of this cast is a force to be reckoned with. I’m sure I’ll share more as the process goes on, but performances are May 4-20 and you can get more information here.
In the meantime, I hope you’ll understand if you don’t see quite as much of me here. Rehearsals are 4 days a week for 4 hours a night so when I come home, I kinda just like to pass out. I’ll try to get my blogging in on days without rehearsal! In the meantime, check out this video to get a sense of the power and themes of Ragtime…
The 12 year old girl in me was so excited to see Alicia at Poise in Parma and Jen from WhyCLE? posting an old chain mail favorite. Back when AOL was king, I was totally that girl who had to answer surveys about myself and then forward them on to all my friends with a message about how if they didn’t fill it out and send it on they would have 7 years of bad luck. So here, I am 27 going on 12… enjoy!
11 Random Things…
1. I love condiments. Especially anything tomato related. Most of my meals involve ketchup, salsa or tomato sauce. 🙂
2. I broke my wrist when I was 8 while playing circus in a friend’s yard while seeing how high I could jump off a swing. I told my parents I fell off the swing.
3. I had LASIK surgery 2 years ago in April.
4. If my house was burning down what one things I would save? Henry. (Don’t judge! Chris has opposable thumbs and can open the door himself.)
5. When I was little I had a underbite. It took 6 years, 2 sets of braces, 3 upper palette expanders, 2 retainers and one set of headgear to correct. (See photo!)
6. I started college as a Theatre Education major. On my 3rd day, I was informed by my advisor that they no longer offered that as an option.
7. I knew Chris for 3 years before we started dating. We were not close friends and I did not have a crush on him.
8. I love both my dogs but I kinda love Henry more. Chris loves Kramer more though, so it’s okay… right?
9. I played clarinet from 5th-8th grade.
10. I question almost every choice I make.
11. There was a period where I would tell my mom I brushed my teeth even though I didn’t. I would go so far as to wet the toothbrush to make it more believable.
Alicia’s questions (that originally came from Stephanie):
I’m only going to tag one person, Lindsay In Wonderland, because I have a feeling she’s appreciate this kinda post and actually do it herself but if you read this and want to participate yourself here are your questions:
Congrats to Jen from Why CLE? She was selected by random.org as the winner of 2 tickets to Near West Theatre’s 2012 Benefit event. YAY!
I was going to write a post tonight about our New Year’s Eve and 2012 resolutions but instead I spent it swearing at my computer. After Chris got the newest iphone operating system, iOS5 , I just had to have it. After a fail last night thanks to starting late and lack of memory on my 6 year old computer, I got to work this evening moving my excessive number of photos to cds so I would have the room to backup my phone.
To my disappointment, I sent most of the evening looking at a screen like this after each attempt at making the update (minus the excessive amout of Black Sabbath)…
Thanks to the wonderful world of user forums, I was able to fix the problem (after 2 hours and some pulled out hair) and my phone is back in working order with the new operating system. Planning for the new year’s post tomorrow and a very special guest post giveaway on Thursday.
Stay tuned!
My fellow bloggers love to celebrate their blog-iversaries. Who could blame them? It’s like an accomplishment… and it’s fun to look back on where you’ve been and how far you’ ve come.
Well tomorrow is my Back to Blog-iversary. Why Back to Blog-iversary?
Well, I’ve done this whole blogging thing before- twice. In college I started out with a Live Journal. God, I wish I could find that thing. If any of my old friends have a link to that stored away somewhere PLEASE share it. I would love to look back and laugh at myself. I remember years of thinly veiled posts about boys I liked, frustration with roomates, recaps of multi-hour conversations on AIM, the general ridiculousness of college and, ultimately, as with any late-teen/early 20-something girl, frustration with boys I liked. Seriously, I would pay someone to find that site for me.
Need a visual on college Sara? Here you go—
That picture of me, Chris and Amy is from September 2003– 3 YEARS before we started dating. 🙂
The second coming of my blogging obsession and the origination of Finding the Time was in July 2008 with my Blogger site. At the time I still had no real direction for my blog. I knew I liked writing but I had no sense of what a blog should (or could) be and no sense of what I liked in a blog. I wrote about my life, occasionally complained about work and broke the news of my engagement then disappeared again in December as I got busy with wedding planning.
Finally in October of 2010, after Lindsay P. turned me on to some amazing blogs like Young House Love and Bower Power, I was once again inspired to write. This time with more dedication and had a clearer vision of what I wanted to do. This wasn’t just a place to vent or share personal crap but it was where I could document my favorite things, write about the insanity of trying to DIY our first house into something I could be proud of, fun Cleveland events, the trials and triumphs of life with Henry and our foster dogs – a little bit of everything from my chaotic life.
With a couple of quick update posts, I was back in business- but by December I remembered how frustrated Blogger made me (you can read my break-up note to Blogger here). So, I took a leap of faith and transfered to WordPress…and here we are!
It seems to be the custom that on your blog-iversary that you take a look back on your favorite posts from the last year. Now, that I’ve bored you with history here are some of my best and brightest…
If you are a fan of Friends, you’ll understand my titles.
The One with my First Baking Attempt – December 2010- I made my Grandma’s chocolate chip oatmeal cookies from scratch. I don’t really bake so this was a big deal for me.
The One with Our First DIY Project– December 2010- Chris and I built a mantle for our fireplace. Okay… Chris built a mantle for our fireplace and I directed/documented. SO excited to be able to hang stocking this year!!
The One with my first GPS– January 2011- I love music so my first GPS (Guilty Pleasure Song) post was a big deal. Sharing music is awesome!
The One with my First Guest Post– February 2011- While I was busy working on Near West Theatre’s benefit, Lindsay P. stepped in and kept things interesting by sharing her brownie recipe. YUM! 🙂
The One that led to our Cali Vacation– March 2011- I wrote a post about how frustrated I was trying to figure out where Chris and I should go for our anniversary. My friend, Beth, commented saying we should come visit her and the fam in Cali- so we did. And then I blogged about it- here and here.
The One where I started my Scene Restaurant Challenge– March 2011- I still haven’t finished this challenge but that doesn’t mean I’m not proud of the idea!
The One with my First Non-Real Life Friend Comment– May 2011- This was a post about the fact that I had substituted ice cream for dinner multiple times in one week. Not the most compelling content BUT it was the first time that someone I didn’t know in real life- Alicia from Poise in Parma– commented on one of my posts. Thanks to the fact that I attended my first OBA Meetup last month I now know Alicia in real life, but I didn’t at the time. It felt like a HUGE milestone. 🙂
The One with my First Giveaway– October 2011- I was over the moon when Freshpet asked me to review their dog food and treats and even more stoked when they agreed to a giveaway. Henry was pretty happy too. BTW- there is ONE MORE WEEK TO ENTER! I’m picking a winner on Halloween!
So, that’s my recap of my year in blogging. Did I miss your favorite post? What was it? Maybe one you were in (those are always my favorite too!). Here’s to another year of blogging fun!!
Finding the Time 